It’s never to early when it comes to teaching your kids about good financial habits. Believe it or not, kids most often learn a lot of their habits and skills from their parents and older role models which carry into their adulthood. Ao even if you aren’t exactly financially savvy yourself, practicing good spending habits and learning how to maintain them will not only benefit you, but also your kids too!
Here is a list of steps you can take to help improve your child’s financial understanding
-Teach the importance between “want” and “need”
Kids think they need everything! Creating a line between wanting and needing something is extremely fundamental for their future selves. Everybody wants something, but having to make the decision between wanting a new toy, and needing food can be a hard one for anybody. Practicing this yourself will help teach them that we can’t always get what we want, especially when we can’t afford it.
Involve your kids and create a list of things that they need such as essential groceries for school lunches, or school supplies.Then make a separate list of things they want which can wait till a later date and be earned such as toys, or candy.
-Introduce their first “paycheck”
It’s a well known fact that money doesn’t just grow on trees, it takes hard work and discipline to earn a paycheck no matter who you are! Creating a chore list and set dollar amount for each chore completed00 will teach your kids the real value of a dollar and what it takes to earn it.
-Open their first savings account
Having them put a portion on their earned money in a savings account can show them the benefits of saving money and building interest over time. I mean, w
ho doesn’t like to see their money increase just by saving it??
-Create an understanding of swiping plastic
Teach your kids that credit and debit cards arne’t just free money. Kids need to understand that when you use your debit card, it automatically deducts your earned money, and when using a credit card you are borrowing money that will need to be payed back.
Teaching and practicing wise money management skills with your kids is vital to their later adult years. These lessons will not only determine how your child will adapt into a money driven world, but also how they choose to survive when it comes to adulthood.